Tell Her (One Night)
by jdc15
Summary: "It's just that she's never felt this desire, this need to touch another person's body like she needs to touch Aubrey, and the thought of that ending is not something she thinks she can handle."
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Tell Her (One Night)  
 **Chapter:** 1/?  
 **Author:** jdc15  
 **Rating:** M/NC-17

 **Word Count:** About 4.2k  
 **Summary:** _It's just that she's never felt this desire, this need to touch another person's body like she needs to touch Aubrey, and the thought of that ending is not something she thinks she can handle.  
_ **Notes:** Might continue if enough people show interest, but may be left on its own. However, I am notoriously bad at continuing things, so you have my apologies in advance.

The first time she notices Aubrey, _really_ notices her, is when they show up for the retreat. She's all but forgotten about the blonde; they weren't ever particularly close and after Aubrey graduated, the only contact they had was via the occasional group email about military-themed cardio regimes.

She knows that there used to be something, there had always been something, ever since the way Aubrey stared at her during her very first audition, but nothing had been said about it and it never became anything other than the occasional fleeting glance or elbow brush. She isn't sure whether she now imagines Aubrey's gaze lingering on her for a second longer than it does on the other Bellas, but either way, she doesn't have time to ponder it before they're forced into a practice session that makes it clear that Aubrey has certainly found her career calling.

She does catch a glimpse of Aubrey in a bikini and some funny sensation happens in her stomach, but she passes it off as adrenaline from the thirty-foot drop into the water.

/

She's flat on her back, feebly attempting to stretch her legs without crying, when a shadow falls over her and a familiar voice sounds: "Stace?"

"Hey Bree. Sorry, I can't turn my head," she answers, and there's that damned feeling again. She bites her lip and catches Aubrey's smile out of the corner of her eye.

"That bad?" Her tone is simultaneously teasing and concerned, and it's incentive enough for Stacie to prop herself up on her elbows and look her in the eye.

"Can't believe I'm still alive, to be honest."

"Sorry." Aubrey sinks down next to her, close enough for their arms to just touch. Stacie bites her lip rather firmly.

"It's all right," she says, bumping Aubrey's arm with her own. "I'll live. I've missed your crazy rehearsals."

Aubrey smiles and fiddles with the cuff of her sleeve. "Really?"

"Of course," Stacie gives her a gentle flick. Her every move feels forced, stilted, though Aubrey doesn't seem to notice anything amiss. "How have you been?"

"Fine," Aubrey says. Stacie waits for her to elaborate, but nothing follows.

"Just 'fine'?"

"I've been good."

"How descriptive."

"I mean, I've been doing well. I like my job, but it's like…I'm in the middle of nowhere, you know? And my boyfriend visits sometimes, but other than that, it's really lonely. You guys coming here is the best thing that's happened to me in months."

She sounds so vulnerable, and it's so unlike Aubrey to affect that tone. Stacie knows she should pat her on the shoulder, offer a hug, give her advice, but all she can hear is ' _my boyfriend'_ echoing obnoxiously in her mind.

"Who's your boyfriend?"

Aubrey blinks. "Oh…um, do you remember Donald? From the Treblemakers?"

"Oh…right," Stacie murmurs. "How are you two doing?"

Aubrey looks suddenly uncomfortable. "Fine."

"That your new favorite word?" She's being rude, now, and Aubrey stares at her.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm great," Stacie says. She doesn't know why she's acting like this, but there's something about the conversation that's suddenly irritating her immensely.

"Okay. Well, yeah. He's nice. He really makes an effort with this long-distance thing, since he's studying at Davidson right now, and I'm here, and—"

"You know what, I'm actually really tired. Think I'm going to grab a nap," Stacie says abruptly. She stands and immediately regrets it, but heads to the tent anyway. She knows she's being an asshole, but she can't seem to control her motions and it isn't until she bundles herself into her sleeping bag that she realizes she will, eventually, have to face this.

/

She doesn't emerge, and no one comes to bother her, until they all wander in for bed. She wakes up to Beca shaking her shoulder gently. "Stace? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she mumbles, rubbing her eyes and offering a smile. "Just tired from Aubrey's boot camp."

Aubrey. That's right. Stacie's stomach clenches uncomfortably and she burrows back into her pillow.

/

She isn't sure whether the loud buzzing is in her dream. Either way, she grumbles and smacks her arms around drowsily, but achieves nothing but punching Cynthia Rose. "Sorry," she whispers, as she comes fully into consciousness, locates her phone, and squints at the screen.

 _It's Aubrey. Meet me outside the tent_

 _Wake up!_

 _I can hear your phone from out here!_

She is hit by a wave of nerves, and immediately has the urge to ignore it and claim to be a much sounder sleeper than she actually is. Instead, she finds herself reaching for a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. She climbs gingerly over the girls and slips outside, stifling a groan when her back spasms and she nearly falls over.

"Are you okay?" Aubrey's voice sounds directly behind her and she jumps, and then regrets the sudden movement.

"I'm wonderful," she grits out. "Not sure what I'm doing outside the tent in the freezing cold dead of night, but whatever."

"It's sixty-five degrees," Aubrey says. "Walk with me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"All right then. But how about we keep the walking to a minimum because if you want me to go hiking I think I'll drown myself in the lake."

"Don't worry," Aubrey says. "No hiking."

She smiles and bites her lip, and Stacie can't really do anything but stare at her. Aubrey holds her hand out and when Stacie doesn't take it, she reaches down and entwines their fingers, tugging Stacie towards the woods.

Stacie balks. "Bree—the bear traps—"

Aubrey gives her a look. "I planted them all."

"Right."

They walk—well, Aubrey walks, Stacie stumbles—until they reach the small dock on the lake. Aubrey turns to her and smiles softly. "I just wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?"

"Now you ask?" Stacie pauses. "Yeah, it's fine. What do you want to talk about?"

Aubrey's face falls slightly. "Why are you being so cold?" She sounds hurt, and Stacie immediately feels like a dick.

"I'm sorry," she says, sincerely. "I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

Stacie turns to her, and Aubrey tilts her head curiously. Her face is half-lit with moonlight, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks, and Stacie stops breathing for a second. The soft lapping of the water is the only sound in what would otherwise be complete stillness. The moment is perfect for a kiss, but Aubrey has a boyfriend and Stacie has never been someone who interferes in relationships, so she forces herself to look away. She's stopped, however, by a hand on her jaw, turning her face back to meet Aubrey's gaze. "Stace?"

"Bree…"

And then Aubrey's leaning in and pressing their lips together, just once, before pulling back and leaving their foreheads together, noses brushing. Stacie's chest heaves and she can't seem to force her brain into action.

"Aubrey," she mumbles uselessly. "What are you—?"

And then their lips are pressed together again, and Aubrey's mouth opens against hers, and Stacie comes alive.

Her hand comes up reflexively to stroke against Aubrey's jaw as they kiss, slowly and close-mouthed, gently rubbing her thumb against the patch of skin in front of Aubrey's ear. She moves to kiss it a second later, and Aubrey pulls in a gasp that sounds like it drained the air for miles.

Stacie presses wet kisses down her throat, shuddering when Aubrey tangles her hands in her hair, fiddling with the tie that holds it back. Stacie yanks it out, impatiently, and her hair cascades down her back and over Aubrey's hands.

There's a moment, not lasting more than a few seconds, where Stacie remembers what's happening, but then Aubrey's nails scratch at the nape of her neck and she nips at Aubrey's neck and she's back to nothing but feeling the moment.

She returns to Aubrey's lips, coaxing her mouth open and licking slightly into her mouth, letting out a moan when Aubrey's tongue comes to meet her own. It's not sloppy, though; Aubrey is a polite kisser, not shoving her tongue down Stacie's throat, and she is surprisingly skilled with her mouth. Her hand comes to Stacie's waist and then to her lower back, rubbing with just enough pressure to alleviate some of the pain in her muscles, and she gasps into Aubrey's mouth.

"Does that feel good?" Aubrey whispers against her lips.

"Do it again," Stacie says, and she would be embarrassed to beg if she wasn't so damn sore. Aubrey presses firm circles into her back and Stacie's head falls to her shoulder, arms draped around her waist. Aubrey chuckles and nudges her nose against Stacie's temple as she explores, her fingers kneading gently but firmly into her back.

"I'm sorry," she breathes into Stacie's hair. "I didn't mean to do this to you."

"Don't worry about it. You're redeeming yourself n—oh, _fuck_."

Aubrey pulls away then, a smirk on her lips. Stacie's eyes flutter open and their gazes meet, and they both seem to realize what's happened.

"Stace…I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"No, don't apologize. You haven't done anything," Stacie says quickly. "If anything, it was me—"

Aubrey lets out a sigh and her head drops to Stacie's shoulder. Stacie pulls her into a hug and they sit like that for a moment before Aubrey speaks again.

"I'm sorry that this happened."

Stacie's stomach drops and Aubrey must hear her intake of breath because she quickly backtracks. "No, not like that—I don't regret it. I just…I haven't seen you for three years and a lot has changed since I graduated, and…I don't know. You know?"

"Yeah."

"I mean…I always felt like there was something different between us, but I never really thought anything of it, but when I saw you earlier today…" She trails off and Stacie takes a deep breath.

"I know what you mean. I'm just confused now, I guess. I mean, you have a boyfriend. We haven't talked since graduation. I just don't really know why this happened."

"Me neither."

There's room there for a conversation, but they fall into silence. Finally, they stand and retrace their steps, parting ways at the tent with nothing more than a brush of hands.

/

She isn't sure, the next morning, whether she dreamed it all. When they wander out of the tent, Aubrey offers her nothing more than a glance and a nod before she sets them to work.

/

By the time night falls and a fire is built, she's worked herself into a knot of worry. This is why she doesn't fuck with people who are already taken. The guilt. She hates when people are hurt, and she hates even more when she's the one who hurt them.

/

The sit around the fire for hours. Stacie fidgets through the seemingly endless singing and emotional planning for the future until Aubrey says that her "work here is done," and Stacie makes her decision. She pulls out her phone and types: _meet me at the dock?_

She tucks her phone away and edges away from the fire as everyone begins heading back to the tent, and they're all too preoccupied with crying and hugging to notice her leave.

She's barely reached the woods when footsteps crunch over the leaves behind her and a small hand curves around her wrist. "Come with me," Aubrey murmurs into her ear, and tugs her back toward the lodge.

/

Stacie allows Aubrey to lead her silently, all the way into the lodge and to Aubrey's room at the back. It's not until Aubrey bolts the door and turns to her that Stacie opens her mouth.

"What are we doing?"

"What do you want to do?"

She's taken aback. Aubrey had led her as if she had a plan, but finding out that there isn't one throws her for a loop.

"I mean…" Aubrey takes a step forward. "We could talk. If you want. Or, we could…not talk."

All reasonable thought seems to have fled Stacie's mind, and all she can think is how unresolved sexual tension left to stew for three years can lead to some regrettable actions.

Aubrey seems to take her silence as encouragement, as she fists her hand in Stacie's sleep shirt and flips them so Stacie is pinned against the wall. Her actions are dominant but her eyes hold nothing but insecurity, so, _fuck it_ , Stacie lurches forward to kiss her. It's desperate—she doesn't know why, but all she can think to do in that moment is be kissing Aubrey, and Aubrey kisses her back, nipping at her lips and slipping her tongue into her mouth. It's hot, and heavy, and Aubrey throws her head back so fast that it hits the door when Stacie runs a hand under her shirt to cup her breast over the bra.

She can't even think straight. This isn't how she normally does things—well, it _is_ , but it's never like this. She can't put her finger on the feeling nagging at the back of her mind, and it would bother her if Aubrey wasn't such a damn good kisser.

She kisses a trail down Aubrey's neck, feeling her erratic pulse jump under her tongue. She notices everything about her, from her heartbeat to the way her lashes flutter when Stacie squeezes her breast over her shirt.

"Take it off," Aubrey gasps, and Stacie pulls it over her head without question. She only has time to briefly appreciate the way Aubrey looks in a black bra before she is pushed backwards to what she hopes is the bed. Her knees his the mattress and she sinks down, Aubrey's hand on the back of her head guiding her into place. It's sweet, the way Aubrey obviously wants to be sure Stacie doesn't hit her head on the wall, and she pulls Aubrey down for another kiss. She's insatiable, suddenly, and Aubrey's body hovering over her own isn't nearly enough. She struggles her way out of her shirt and immediately feels Aubrey's hand at the clasp of her bra.

"Can I—"

"Yeah, do you need help—" the stupidity of asking Aubrey if she needs assistance with a bra clasp is apparent when she slips it off with one hand without breaking the kiss. It's impressive, and it's really hot.

Stacie yanks the bra away and drops it off the side of the bed. Aubrey pulls back, just a bit, but enough for Stacie to pause.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I just—" Aubrey sighs frustratedly and buries her face in Stacie's shoulder. "I don't have much experience with…girls."

"Really?" It's surprising. Aubrey nods against her collarbone. "You had me fooled."

She feels Aubrey smile against her skin and drop a kiss to her neck. "Do you?" she asks without lifting her face.

"Yeah," Stacie admits. "But only twice, and I was drunk both times."

"Well, that still makes you the expert here. I've done it once."

"Expert? I wouldn't go that far."

"More of an expert than me," Aubrey mumbles as she presses her thigh, hard, between Stacie's legs, and Stacie pulls in a lungful of air so quickly she almost chokes on it. "Is that good?" Aubrey asks quietly.

Stacie doesn't bother to answer; she flips them and claims Aubrey's lips again before kissing a path down her neck and over the soft curve of her breast. "Can I take it off?"

"Please."

Stacie is almost embarrassed at the ten seconds she spends struggling with the clasp before it pops open and she can slide the bra down Aubrey's arms and off the bed, but when she lays eyes on Aubrey's chest, all she can feel is turned on. She's forgotten (or maybe never quite discovered?) how much she loves boobs.

/

She's never spent as much time on a part of someone's body as she does with Aubrey's chest. She feels a need to cover every millimeter of porcelain skin with kisses, and from Aubrey's desperate panting, she isn't exactly complaining. Stacie drags her tongue over a nipple and feels almost smug at the way it stiffens immediately. She cups both of Aubrey's breasts and kneads them, gently. She doesn't know if Aubrey likes it rough, or soft, or anywhere in between, so she airs on the side of tentative and hopes she's doing this properly. If Aubrey's wild eyes and unrestrained moans are any indication, she absolutely is.

Finally, she allows her mouth to venture to new, undiscovered territory. Aubrey's abs flex and quiver under her lips as she scrapes her teeth gently over them, and Stacie moves her hands to Aubrey's thighs and strokes up and down over her jeans.

Suddenly Aubrey is pushing her back, and she's terrified for a moment until she realizes Aubrey's struggling with her jeans, popping the button and shoving them down hurriedly. She only manages to get them to her knees before Stacie takes over and peels them away for her. The pale skin that is uncovered is impossible not to explore, so she bends to press her lips to Aubrey's legs. They're soft and fall open so easily at the tentative touch of Stacie's hands.

"Stacie, please." The quiet sound of Aubrey's voice is like a punch to Stacie's chest. Her lungs constrict and before she knows it, she's edging Aubrey's underwear down and discarding it over the side of the mattress. She catches Aubrey's lips in a rougher kiss as she drags two fingers between her legs for the first time. Aubrey's moan is lost in Stacie's mouth and she presses closer until their skin touches everywhere.

Stacie circles her fingers over Aubrey's clit, alternating high pressure with softer touches. Aubrey rocks against her fingers, her breathing coming in short gasps punctuated by groans of Stacie's name and various expletives. Aubrey cursing is never something Stacie though she'd find hot, but hearing her moan _fuck me, Stacie_ turns her on more than she thought possible. Her arousal is so strong that it feels like it's burning with heat and she grinds down on Aubrey's quivering thigh, desperate for relief.

She moves her fingers more quickly, up and down and side to side, switching up the pace and the pattern until she feels something building. She parts from Aubrey's mouth and licks her way down her body, lingering again over her breasts and then at her hipbones, which stick out just enough for Stacie to trace circles around them with her tongue. She repeats the same pattern between her legs, opening her mouth fully and licking deep against her.

"Oh my god," Aubrey whimpers, her hands tangling in Stacie's hair and pulling hard enough to encourage but not enough to hurt, legs trembling and fingers scratching helplessly against Stacie's head. "Don't stop. Right there, baby, please."

She isn't sure what about Aubrey's words affects her so much, but whatever it is makes her double her efforts, wrapping her arms around Aubrey's thighs and dragging her impossibly closer, sucking her clit into her mouth and kissing desire into the heat of her body. She's so wet; Stacie's mouth is slick and Aubrey's inner thighs are sticky from where Stacie has dragged her hands over her skin.

Aubrey settles her legs around her shoulders, and it's not just another body under her, like it has been with so many others. It's _Aubrey_ under her, hair mussed and panting out Stacie's name, and it's the most beautiful thing she's ever experienced.

It isn't much longer before Aubrey's body tenses almost violently, her thighs going rigid on either side of Stacie's head and trapping her where she continues to work her mouth, desperately trying to prolong the experience. She licks over her for long moments until Aubrey pulls feebly at her shoulder and she reluctantly rises from where she's surely left an indentation in the bed and returns to Aubrey's lips. They kiss for minutes before Aubrey pulls away slightly and there's an obvious space for words.

"Can I touch you?" is what comes out of Aubrey's mouth, which is so far from the regret that Stacie was expecting to hear that she doesn't even have time to do more than nod before Aubrey flips them to climb atop Stacie and sink her teeth into her neck.

/

She's been fingered before. Obviously. But when Aubrey slips inside her, all she can think is how the feeling of her, of every crease and dip of her hands, feels so new, so fresh, that it's like she's discovering the experience all over again.

"Do you like that?" Aubrey leans down to breathe into her ear, and Stacie's hips jerk up and off the bed at the sound. Aubrey's voice is rough and so unlike the way she usually speaks.

"Yeah." Her legs fall open at the press of Aubrey's hips into her own and she presses her lips together to stifle a moan as Aubrey grinds against the back of her own hand as she works her fingers, surprisingly adeptly, inside of her.

She's embarrassed when it takes only short minutes for her to reach the unmistakable building. "Bree," she whispers.

"Mm?" Aubrey shakes her hair out of her face and slows her fingers inside Stacie. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just—I don't want this to be over so quickly." She looks away and hates herself for the tears that suddenly spark at the corners of her eyes. She doesn't cry during sex. This is pathetic and she would be angry if she weren't so scared that after this is over they'll just go their separate ways and never speak again. She's never had a problem with that in the past; it's just that she's never felt this desire, this _need_ to touch another person's body like she needs to touch Aubrey, and the thought of that ending is not something she thinks she can handle.

"It's not over," Aubrey says quietly. "Don't worry."

"Okay," Stacie says, but she _is_ worried. She brushes a hand impatiently over her eyes and then shuts them when Aubrey begins an unhurried exploration of her chest, weighing her breasts in her hands and thumbing over her nipples, mouth slightly open as she familiarizes herself with the territory. She makes the executive decision to tweak one and Stacie feels a shock of arousal travel straight down between her legs.

Aubrey glances at her for just a moment before she returns her gaze to Stacie's chest and takes a nipple into her mouth, grazing her teeth lightly over it. She's either done this before or is so naturally good that Stacie doesn't notice her other hand moving until it resumes its circles around her clit. Stacie rolls her hips into the pressure, drawing all possible sensation from the pads of Aubrey's fingers as they speed up to a pace that has her orgasm slamming her body before she even realizes it was building again.

She squeaks out Aubrey's name, hands scrambling for purchase in the sheets. Aubrey's hands drift to her waist, and her lips linger on Stacie's neck for no longer than a second before she dives down to place her mouth between her legs.

Stacie cries out, her body jerking. She can't hold back from being loud this time around and has the fleeting hope that no one is within earshot of the room. Aubrey's tongue moves in precise circles and two fingers return to fill her perfectly and rub intimately against the inside of her. Aubrey makes smooth, deep strokes with her fingers and Stacie's head flies back onto the bed, her hands scratching at Aubrey's neck and shoulders. She glances down again, and the realization hits that probably the most beautiful girl in the world is currently buried between her legs, nose brushing her inner thighs with every stroke of her tongue and eyelashes fluttering as she sighs against her, tilting her head to change the angle and drive Stacie to climax for the second time.

/

Though she understands what it's like to want to continue forever, she drags Aubrey up to kiss her softly, tongue flicking out to trace her lips and soothe the racing pulse in Aubrey's neck.

They lie there for a while, not speaking, until Aubrey reaches across Stacie to turn out the lamp and they are bathed in darkness. The blanket is pulled over them and Aubrey snuggles her way into Stacie's arms.

It's the best feeling she knows, lying in bed with Aubrey after what they've shared. It could be tainted, it almost _is_ tainted, with the knowledge that it's cheating, but she can't find it in herself to think about anything other than the soft, small body curled against her own.

In the morning, they'll talk, maybe fight, but until the sun rises Stacie has every intention of pretending that this is the most normal thing in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Tell Her (One Night)  
 **Chapter:** 2/?  
 **Author:** jdc15  
 **Rating:** M/NC-17

 **Word Count:** About 6.5k  
 **Summary:** _Her body is buzzing and her muscles relaxed like they always are after an amazing night, but it's overshadowed by the tremendous guilt she feels, whether the feeling is warranted or not._

 **Notes:** Thanks for the response to the last chapter! Here's the next. Due to the tragic lack of long Staubrey fics, I'm going to do my best to make this a multi-chapter work…we'll see how long that lasts.

Her first thought when she blinks awake is that she's got something in her eye. She rubs at it drowsily and then freezes when she feels lips against her shoulder blade.

"Good morning," Aubrey murmurs, pressing a kiss to her back and then another to her neck.

"Morning," Stacie whispers, quietly. For some reason she feels that talking too loudly will scare Aubrey away, and she just wants to stay here in bed with her for the rest of her life. She turns over slowly to face her and sees Aubrey's sleepy eyes flick to her chest and then back to her face with a sheepish half-smile.

"Did you sleep okay?" she asks, running a hand over Stacie's neck and all the way down her arm to thread their fingers together. Stacie nods and rubs her eye, realizing that she slept with her contacts in and that's why it feels like someone's poured pepper in her eye.

"What's wrong? Are you crying?"

She laughs. "No, I'm not crying. It's just my contacts. If I sleep with them in they get all fucked up."

"You wear contacts?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that."

Stacie shrugs, not sure how to respond. "There's a lot we don't know about each other," she says quietly. "It's been three years."

Aubrey looks suddenly downcast. "I've missed you," she admits.

"I've missed you too," Stacie says, and it isn't until the words leave her mouth that she realizes how true they are. Aubrey offers a half-smile, and they lapse into silence until Stacie suddenly feels as though someone has poured ice water over her head. "What about Donald?"

Aubrey's smile disappears immediately and she retracts her arm from Stacie's body to curl it around herself. "What about him?"

"What about him? You know what about him."

"I don't know." Aubrey's shoulder twitches irritably. "Do we really have to talk about him?"

"Are you being serious? He's your boyfriend, isn't he?"

"Yes," Aubrey says reluctantly.

"Then I'd say he is pretty relevant."

Instead of acknowledging this, Aubrey asks, "do you regret sleeping with me?"

"Jesus, Aubrey. No, I don't regret it. It was amazing. But I do regret hurting him. Anyone with a conscience would feel bad about what happened."

Aubrey sits up, holding the sheet over her chest. "So you do regret it." Her voice has a catch in it, and she turns her face away as she shuffles around in search of her clothes.

"I didn't say that!" Exasperated, Stacie sits as well. "I just reminded you of the fact that you just cheated on your boyfriend—"

"Oh, so this is my fault?"

"I didn't say anything was your fault, but I'm not the one with a boyfriend here."

"Okay." Aubrey yanks her shirt over her head and struggles into her pants. "It's fine. I get it, it's my fault and you think I'm a terrible person, and you know what? I am. So I guess we should just ignore each other today and then get back to our lives as they were before this happened."

"What's the matter with you?" Stacie asks, rising from the bed still wrapped in the sheet. "Why are you acting like this? Did I do something to you?"

Aubrey just shakes her head. "No Stacie, you didn't do anything to me except give me the best lay of my life and then ruin it by bringing up my fucking boyfriend." She gathers her remaining clothes and retreats to the bathroom, bolting the door loudly behind her.

Stacie sinks back onto the bed with a frustrated sigh before reaching for her own clothes. Her body is buzzing and her muscles relaxed like they always are after an amazing night, but it's overshadowed by the tremendous guilt she feels, whether the feeling is warranted or not.

/

"Where have you been?" Chloe hisses.

"Walking," Stacie says lamely.

Chloe raises an eyebrow. "You've been walking since seven-thirty? Because that's when I woke up and you were definitely not there when I left."

"Yeah, absolutely. Gotta get that cardio in, right?" Stacie blusters. Chloe opens her mouth again but before she has a chance to question Stacie further, Beca bounces up and snags her arm.

"Chlo, can I talk to you? Hi, Stacie."

Stacie offers a smile. Chloe hesitates but she has exactly zero power to argue when Beca is involved so she allows herself to be led away with nothing more than a glare tossed over her shoulder.

/

Aubrey doesn't show up all morning, and Stacie gets more nervous with each minute passed. She sends a text (well, four texts) but receives no replies and is finally forced onto the bus with anxiety twisting her stomach into knots and teeth chewing her lip raw.

She's staring desperately out the window when Beca plops down next to her and taps her on the arm. "You okay, dude?"

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm totally fine," Stacie nods. "How are you?"

"Fine." Beca studies her suspiciously. "Are you sure there's nothing going on? Chloe said you were acting weird and you left the tent really early."

"I went for a walk," Stacie insists.

"Okay. You went for a walk," Beca says agreeably, and they fall silent. Stacie jiggles her leg rather frenetically as the bus starts moving, her eyes darting to the lodge and staring at it until they round a bend and it disappears. She flops back on her seat and begins fidgeting with her hands, lacing and unlacing her fingers and trying not to think about where they were less than six hours ago. Beca raises an eyebrow but says nothing.

/

Beca and Chloe resume daily practices, stuffing in extra cardio and expecting everyone to nail down dance routines overnight. It's exhausting and while Stacie loves the girls, she's too distracted to concentrate and finds herself wishing the Worlds would be over already so she could leave this town.

Three weeks before the competition Chloe has the bright idea to include all the past Bellas in the performance. It's a good idea but getting that many people on board and convincing them to buy tickets to Copenhagen with less than a month's notice is going to be difficult. No one else seems to see the problem, though, so Chloe starts making phone calls and Stacie returns to the choreography.

/

Copenhagen is beautiful, and Stacie stares longingly at everything they pass, excited for the opportunity they'll have to explore after the competition. They stop briefly for lunch at some hole-in-the-wall café where everything is in Danish, and get served some weird fish panini that they all pick at before Fat Amy gives up, pulling a massive package of beef jerky out of her bag and passing it around.

"I don't know about you aca-lezzies, but I've had enough vagina sandwiches for the week," she mumbles around a mouthful of jerky.

"Vagina sandwiches?" Chloe asks, affronted.

"Yeah. Not to disparage you and Beca's preferences, or whatever, though," she says airily, passing the bag to Jessica. "If you like fish sandwiches, I'm not about to judge you."

"Amy, we aren't—" Beca flushes.

"It doesn't taste like _fish_ ," Chloe says.

"Oh yeah?" Amy asks, curiosity obviously piqued. "What's it like then, ginger?"

Chloe, unabashed as ever, grins. "It doesn't taste like anything, really. I mean, it's awesome, and everyone's different, obviously, but you can't really describe it, you know?"

Beca buries her face in her hands while everyone else snickers into their coffees, and Amy raises her eyebrows, clearly impressed. Stacie can't help the memory that pops suddenly into her mind, of Aubrey underneath her, panting as Stacie presses her hips into the bed and opens her mouth against her—

"Stace, you okay?"

"Fine," she says, pretending not to know how red her face is surely becoming. "Shall we go? Don't want to be late."

They agree and everyone gathers their things, Amy reclaiming the jerky with another muttered statement about lesbians and fish.

Beca side-eyes the shit out of her as they leave the shop, but Stacie thoroughly ignores her.

/

She's never been more nervous about a performance before, and she twists her hands anxiously as she follows Beca onstage. There are so many people, but at least it's late enough in the day that they're blurred into shadows, lit only by phone screens and glow sticks.

She executes the clapping sequence thanks to muscle memory, and then, finally, she starts to have fun. By the time the stage dims and the spotlight falls onto Beca, she can't wait for the reveal. When the lights come on and she hears the old Bellas begin to sing behind her, she knows she's grinning like an idiot.

It's bittersweet, though; on one hand, she's never felt more at home with these girls, but at the same time she wants to cry and go disappear into a hole in the ground because she doesn't want to face having to move on from them. She's closer to them than she ever has been with her own family.

The next time she spins and follows the choreography toward the back of the stage, her eyes fall on a very familiar figure. She falters in her singing for a moment when she realizes that it's Aubrey, and when they make eye contact, she almost forgets to turn back around. She can't for the life of her realize why they're both on stage, and why the hell no one bothered to tell her she was going to be in the performance. She surprises herself with the fact that she's angry, and she turns her back on the blonde, but not before catching the hurt in Aubrey's eyes. She can't find it in herself to care, though, so she throws herself back into the performance and keeps her eyes glued to the floor whenever the dance requires her to turn to the back.

/

The moment they find out they've won, Fat Amy materializes with several bottles of liquor and the announcement that they're having a party in the hotel. No one objects as they cry and laugh and hug each other. Stacie squeezes them all, not wanting to let go, but eventually they pile into several taxis, already making plans for the night. Stacie and Beca are squished against the door by Fat Amy, who commandeers three-quarters of the backseat.

"So, you aca-bitches ready for a wild night? World champions, baby!" she screeches, giving the cab driver a healthy smack on the shoulder and flinging her purse rather haphazardly.

"Amy! Have you been drinking already?"

"Well, duh. I'm twice the size of you puny caterpillars, so I've got to adjust my intake accordingly," she hiccups with a smirk. Beca shakes her head and then yelps when Amy pats her on the head rather heavily.

Amy falls abruptly asleep five minutes later and Beca and Stacie share a grateful sigh before Beca clears her throat. "So."

"So?" Stacie answers, feigning ignorance, though she knows exactly where this is going.

"Don't play stupid. You know that shit doesn't work on me."

"Not sure what you're talking about."

"Stacie!" Beca says exasperatedly. "Don't be so difficult!"

"Difficult?" if she weren't so edgy, she'd laugh. Beca is hilarious when she's worked up.

"You know exactly what I'm trying to talk to you about," Beca warns. "But since you seem to have left your brain behind today, I'll spell it out for you."

"Rude."

Beca ignores her. "What's going on with you and Aubrey?"

Her heartbeat doubles in speed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Becs."

"I saw how you went all red when Amy said that shit about the fish—"

" _I_ blushed? You looked like a fucking tomato!"

"This isn't about me!" Beca snaps, though she blushes furiously anyway. "Don't change the subject!"

"I'm not changing the subject!"

"Yes you are. Now stop lying to me, Stacie Conrad, or I will kick your ass."

She can't help but laugh at that one, even if her stomach is currently tying itself into a rather impressive knot. Beca glowers and crosses her arms. "I'm waiting."

"Fine," Stacie finally relents. She isn't sure if Beca's getting to her, or if she just really wants to talk to someone about this. Either way, she sighs and confesses, "I slept with her."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"Thanks a lot," Stacie groans, running her hands through her hair. "You're a great friend."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Tell me about it."

"Well—" She isn't quite sure how to begin. Now that she's admitted to the fact that it happened at all, she's almost embarrassed to elaborate, but Beca is staring expectantly at her and she can't exactly backtrack now. "It was at the retreat. I hadn't seen her, or really talked to her at all since she graduated, and seeing her…I don't know. Something just felt different, you know? Or like…there had always sort of ben something there, but it took three years apart for me to realize it."

Beca gives her an encouraging nod, and she presses on. "So, the first night we were there, she found me and we got to talking a little bit, and then we ended up making out." She blushes and avoids meeting Beca's gaze. "And then the next night she ended up bringing me to her room and…you know. But then the next morning I was stupid enough to bring up her boyfriend—"

"Wait, Aubrey has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, Donald, from the Treblemakers—"

"Are you serious? That is literally the last person I would expect her to end up with."

"I know," Stacie says miserably. Fat Amy stirs and mumbles in her sleep but doesn't wake.

"Whatever. Anyway, get on with it."

"Okay. Well, we kind of had a fight after that, because she was pissed that I brought him up and I was pissed because she cheated on him with me, and you know I hate cheating, and then she stormed out and wouldn't even look at me for the rest of the day, and then we left and I just saw her on stage and it took me by surprise and that's why I freaked out a little bit," she says in a single breath, annoyed with herself when she blinks back tears.

Beca rubs her arm soothingly. "Well, I don't mean to be a dick, but bringing up someone's boyfriend the morning after is, like, a major party foul."

"I know, I know. I just can't stand people cheating, you know, after what happened with my parents. I know I shouldn't have brought it up then, but it just sort of slipped out." She buries her face in her hands and shakes her head with a sniff. "I fucked it all up, didn't I."

"No, you didn't," Beca says reasonably. "You just need to talk to her. I'm sure Chloe will force her to come to the party tonight, so you can do it then. You'll both be all happy because we just won, and anyway, if she picks _Donald_ over someone like you, she's an idiot and not even worth your time. By the way, that girl always struck me as a majorly repressed lesbian, so I think you'll be okay."

"Okay," Stacie sighs. What Beca said makes sense, and there's really nothing she can do aside from try and speak with Aubrey about the situation. Even if nothing good comes from it, she knows she'll hate herself, probably forever, if she doesn't make an attempt. "Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime, dude."

"So, while I have you trapped in this car for another few minutes, what's going on with you and Chloe?"

Beca flushes scarlet and Stacie grins.

/

It takes the two of them punching Fat Amy before she wakes, flailing weakly and immediately reaching for the alcohol in her purse. Beca snatches it away and stuffs some money in the cabbie's hand, shoving Amy out of the car where she immediately trips and rolls around on the sidewalk.

"Give me the vodka!" she whines, grabbing at Beca's ankles.

"No! Amy, oh my god, get up."

Amy grumbles but climbs to her feet. "Cockblocking bitch."

"Lightweight," Beca counters. Amy lunges for her but misses and ends up stumbling over a root protruding through a crack in the sidewalk. She walks quietly, a few paces behind, after that.

/

They're the last ones there, which makes sense, because Stacie would swear that their driver had gone deliberately below the speed limit in order to eavesdrop on their conversation.

A blur of auburn is all Stacie sees before Chloe hurtles into Beca, hugging the three of them before they even step through the door. She plants a quick kiss on a startled Beca before spinning away, clearly drunk already. Stacie smirks at Beca, who flips her off as she's dragged away. Amy makes a beeline for the table where the alcohol is lined up, and Stacie follows her, deciding to get a couple of drinks under her belt so she doesn't chicken out when Aubrey shows up.

/

She doesn't have to wait long; she's barely had a sip of her vodka-cranberry (mostly cranberry because she's a pussy) when Chloe taps her on the shoulder and slurs, " _Your girl's here_ ," into her ear.

"She isn't my—" Stacie begins, but Chloe wanders away again and she's left alone to scan the room, breath catching when she sees Aubrey hanging her coat in the small closet next to the door and then accepting a hug from Cynthia Rose.

She downs the rest of her drink quickly before mixing two more and making her way through the Bellas to where Aubrey and Emily are laughing together. She stands to the side like an idiot before Emily sees her and instantly grabs her for a hug. "Stace!" she squeals. "We won!"

"We sure did, Em," Stacie laughs, plucking the drink from Emily's hand and sniffing it. "Good god, girl, you're starting strong."

"No, I think you're just starting weak," Emily counters, before laughing excessively loudly and bouncing away with a wave. Stacie watches her go, torn between amusement and concern. Before she can decide, however, Aubrey clears her throat.

"Hey, Stacie."

"Hi, Bree," she says quietly, handing Aubrey one of the cups. "Here."

"Oh—thank you."

They stand and sip in silence for a minute before Stacie gathers herself together. "So, I kind of wanted to talk to you."

Aubrey shifts her weight and swirls her drink. "Sure."

"Well…" She realizes suddenly that she has no idea where to begin. She's shit at initiating conversations like these. "I guess I just wanted to say sorry for what I did."

"What you did?"

"You know…bringing up Donald. In the morning." She forces herself to make eye contact, and can't help but admire the color of Aubrey's eyes.

"Oh."

Stacie waits for her to elaborate, but nothing follows, so she presses on herself. "It was a dick move, and the last thing I should have said in that situation."

"It's okay," Aubrey says quietly. "I'm sorry too. For being a bitch about it, and for putting you in that position to start with."

"Thank you," Stacie says sincerely, and they lapse again into silence. It's awkward, and they each finish their drinks just for something to do. Stacie crumples her cup absentmindedly and the sound seems to jolt Aubrey back into speech.

"How have you been? Since the retreat, I mean."

"Oh, I've been okay. Beca and Chloe just about killed us in rehearsal, but it was worth it." She can't help the grin that spreads over her face.

Aubrey smiles and bites her lip, and Stacie has another sudden memory of Aubrey doing just that, except she was flat on her back with one hand tangled in Stacie's hair and the other at her jaw. She flushes and looks away.

"It really was. It was so awesome to get to sing with you guys one more time," Aubrey says. "Running the lodge is great and all, but I really, really missed performing."

"Yeah, I'll miss it too."

Again, there's silence, but this time Stacie breaks it before it gets too excruciating. "What's it like to run the retreat?"

"It's…interesting," Aubrey replies. "I see a lot of crazy shit, but I also get to help people bond, and seeing relationships form or be repaired is really rewarding. Plus, I get to boss people around, and we all know how much I like that." She winks, and something about it strikes Stacie as incredibly dirty. She has a fleeting thought that she really wouldn't mind Aubrey bossing her around, but she banishes it at once.

"That's amazing," she says. "I'm glad you found something you like doing."

"Yeah, me too." Aubrey pauses. "What about you? What are your plans?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm taking a year off before grad school, but I know I want to study something in the medical field. Maybe experimental medicine. I want to find a cure for lung cancer." She trails off and glues her eyes to the floor.

"Why lung cancer?" Aubrey asks carefully.

"That's what killed my dad," Stacie admits.

"I'm sorry," Aubrey says.

Stacie half-shrugs. "It was ages ago."

"I'm still sorry," Aubrey says, and lays a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Stacie murmurs. Her body feels warm where Aubrey's hand rests and she glances at it reflexively. Aubrey blushes a little and withdraws, and Stacie instantly misses it.

"Sorry," Aubrey says.

"It's okay," Stacie says, and it's awkward again.

"I need another drink," Aubrey announces, and Stacie assumes she's just as sick of the tension between them as she is.

"Me too."

/

They split up after mixing drinks at either end of the table. Aubrey gets pulled away by Fat Amy and Stacie is snagged by a very drunk Chloe.

"Come dance with us!" Chloe begs.

"Who's 'us'?" Stacie asks suspiciously.

"Me and Beca, duh." Chloe rolls her eyes. "Come on."

/

An hour of heavy grinding between Beca and Chloe and multiple drinks later, she's close to hammered and has had more than enough of them groping each other, so she wanders away to look for Aubrey. She's drunk enough not to ask herself for an explanation, she just looks.

The hotel suite seems unnecessarily large and twisty, but she finally finds the blonde at the window, drink tipping in one hand.

"Bree?"

Aubrey turns around and squints at her. "Stace?"

"Yeah." Stacie leans a shoulder against the wall. "What are you doing over here by yourself?"

Instead of answering, Aubrey takes a long chug from her cup before dropping it on the floor and holding her arms out. "Come cuddle me."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?" Aubrey frowns, and it's so adorably sad that Stacie has to force herself not to go to her immediately.

"I think you know why," Stacie says.

"Please," Aubrey says sadly. "I'm lonely."

Stacie hesitates, but the tone in her voice isn't something she can ignore, so she goes to her and wraps her in a hug. It's blurry and she feels like falling over, but Aubrey's body feels just like she remembers against her own and she relaxes into the embrace with a sigh.

/

An indeterminate amount of time later, they're still pressed together, Aubrey's nose rubbing softly against Stacie's collarbone. It tickles, and every now and then she'll press a tiny kiss to the skin of Stacie's chest. It sends shivers through Stacie's body, and she's never been more grateful for their difference in height.

"I have my own room," Aubrey mumbles finally, and Stacie just about jumps out of her skin.

"Bree—"

"I want to take you to bed," Aubrey whispers, lips brushing her skin with every word. It's such a romantic thing to say.

"I want that, too," Stacie says, feeling suddenly miserable. "But I can't."

"Why?"

Stacie grasps for the words to explain herself, but her mind doesn't cooperate. She knows she should be angry at this, that Aubrey still has a boyfriend, that they're drunk and they'll definitely regret this in the morning. But, somehow, her brain doesn't keep up with her mouth and before she knows it, she's agreeing.

"Okay. Take me to bed."

Aubrey doesn't smile, doesn't do anything but silently extricate herself from the hug and lead the way out of the suite. They weave through the Bellas and out into the hall where the silence presses into Stacie's eardrums so violently that she suddenly wishes she were back in the party, but the door clicks shut behind them and then Aubrey's hand is in hers, leading her down the empty hallway.

/

Aubrey undresses her quickly, dropping the performance costume, piece by piece, onto the floor until Stacie stands in only her underwear. She drops immediately to her knees and drags her mouth over Stacie's thighs, nipping at the skin and drawing gasps from Stacie's open mouth. Her teeth bite firmly but her tongue soothes quickly over the sting, and Stacie knows she'll see the marks the next day.

Aubrey glances up at her for just a moment before her mouth slips between Stacie's legs, and Stacie's eyes slam shut and her head flies back against the door. "Oh my god."

"You're so wet," Aubrey murmurs, nudging Stacie's thigh open with her nose and flattening her tongue over the whole of her. Her fingers of one hand tap a rhythm against Stacie's hips and her other hand reaches up to stroke the underside of her breast. Stacie's chest heaves and she buries her hands in blonde hair, doing her best not to pull but probably failing. Her orgasm hits her hard and unexpectedly, just like the last time they were together, and she presses herself into the wall before sliding down into Aubrey's arms. She guides them to the bed and lays Stacie down, giving her no more than ten seconds to catch her breath before she claims her lips and slips two fingers into her.

Stacie's cry is lost in Aubrey's mouth and she wraps her legs around Aubrey's waist, kissing her desperation into her lips and scratching her short nails down Aubrey's smooth shoulders. Aubrey's lips move to her neck and Stacie's quiet moans fall unrestrained into the air, the only noise in the room aside from the soft rustling of sheets and Aubrey's erratic breathing.

Aubrey's thumb presses circles over her clit as her fingers rub perfectly inside of her, every stroke increasing the sensation until she comes for a second time with Aubrey's lips on her throat.

Aubrey _still_ doesn't let up. She removes her hand but replaces it with her thigh, grinding it in slow circles between Stacie's legs and raising both hands to her chest where she cups her breasts and kneads them gently, thumbs brushing her nipples as she licks her way across her collarbone. "Aubrey," Stacie chokes out, almost too far gone to breathe. "Aubrey…"

It's the only thing she can think to say, and she repeats Aubrey's name as she comes, hard, for a third time and then pushes her away and closes her thighs, her entire body feeling electric but sated. She doesn't think anyone has ever pushed her three times in a row, and it's almost too much but at the same time it's the most perfect thing she's ever felt. It's a new level of feeling; her body feels unlocked in a way she isn't familiar with, but that she wants to recreate again and again.

"Kiss me," she whispers, and Aubrey complies at once. Their lips slide slowly together, noses brushing and sharing breaths. Stacie begins to reach down Aubrey's body but is stopped by a hand on her wrist. She starts to question it but is silenced by Aubrey's tongue flicking into her mouth and their fingers tangling together between their bodies.

/

They're woken sometime the next morning by an obnoxious beeping. Aubrey leans over to fumble for her phone and shut it off before resuming her position in Stacie's arms.

"What was that?" Stacie asks tiredly.

"Alarm."

"Oh, right." She tries to force herself awake, but she can tell she hasn't had enough sleep to sober up sufficiently. "What time is it?"

"Half past eight."

Stacie groans and rubs her eyes. She slept with her god damn contacts in again and the burning in her eyes is kind of making her want to kill herself.

She rolls over to nuzzle into Aubrey's cheek, throwing an arm across her ribcage and snuggling as far into her as she can. She's definitely still drunk, because she never pulls any of this morning-after-lovey-shit sober.

There's about thirty seconds of blissful silence before Stacie's phone rings and she grabs at it blindly, accepting the call without checking the name on the screen. "Hello?"

"Stacie? Oh, thank god, we didn't know where you were."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm fine."

"Where are you?" Chloe demands, clearly concerned. "I thought you were staying with Amy, but we all just came down for breakfast and no one knew where you had disappeared to last night."

There's a pause, in which Stacie's brain makes a valiant effort to come up with an excuse, but nothing makes itself available. "I'll explain later, okay?"

"Okay," Chloe says, clearly extremely suspicious. "Are you coming to breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Stacie sighs. "Sorry, I totally forgot about it."

"It's fine," Chloe reassures. "Take your time."

"Thanks, Chlo. See you in a few." She hangs up and lets the phone fall out of her hand onto the mattress. "We have to go to breakfast," she whispers to Aubrey.

"I know. I just remembered that's what I set the alarm for. Chloe threatened me with certain death if I skipped it. Apparently it's some last Bellas bonding activity." Aubrey's voice is thick with sleep and her makeup is adorably smudged. She stretches her arms lazily and offers a smile. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well." The normal-talk is freaking Stacie out a little bit, to be honest, but she tries to ignore the feeling. "You?"

"Really well."

"That's good."

There's a short pause, before Aubrey clears her throat and asks, "Should we head down to breakfast?"

/

There's a bit of a dilemma about what Stacie is supposed to wear since she doesn't have the key card to her own room (it's buried somewhere in Beca and Chloe's suite and Fat Amy has the only other one), but Aubrey manages to scrounge up a t-shirt and pair of running shorts that Stacie pulls on quickly. They're too short for her but it's not that far from something she'd normally wear, so hopefully no one will notice anything amiss.

They leave the room and step into the elevator in silence. They're on the ninth floor, so it's a slow ride down and Stacie grits her teeth to keep herself from opening her mouth. They stand a few inches apart, elbows just a hair's breadth away from touching.

Stacie's got her eyes locked on the floor counter, watching it slide excruciatingly slowly from seven to six, when she feels Aubrey's hand weave into her own and suddenly she's pinned against the doors, Aubrey's mouth open against hers. She automatically raises her hands to cup Aubrey's jaw and flips them around until Aubrey is the one against the door. She trails wet kisses along Aubrey's neck, scraping her teeth roughly against her pulse. Aubrey gasps beneath her, and Stacie's got one hand slipping under the elastic of her sweats when the elevator dings. The doors slide open just as they leap out of the way.

Aubrey jumps back, running a shaky hand through her hair. She shoots a look at Stacie that is simultaneously apologetic and seductive, and Stacie just shakes her head and leads the way into the lobby, trying valiantly to control her breathing and praying to all the gods in existence that there's no physical evidence of what they've just been doing.

"Hey," she says, sliding into the chair next to Beca. "Sorry we're late."

Beca, who appears massively hungover, only shrugs. Aubrey takes the last seat, which is next to Cynthia Rose and directly across from Stacie. They avoid eye contact, but ten minutes into breakfast, their legs are tangled around each other and Aubrey's toe is rubbing against the inside of Stacie's knee, making it incredibly difficult to concentrate on her pancakes.

/

Chloe, who, as usual, has annoying avoided a hangover, announces that they have a busy day of sightseeing planned. The groups lets out a collective groan and everyone sinks into the table.

"Don't whine," Chloe says brightly. "It's Copenhagen! It's a beautiful day, it's _Europe_ …not to mention basically the gay capital of the country," she winks with a glance at Beca.

Beca finally emerges from her hoodie, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head and glowering. "What does that have to do with me?"

Chloe just smiles understandingly at her and pulls Beca's hood back over her head. "Don't worry about it."

Stacie can feel Aubrey's gaze burning a massive hole in the side of her head, but she doesn't dare look up.

/

They whittle the day away visiting small shops before Aubrey drags them all to the Rosenborg Castle Gardens, informing them that gardens are absolutely not a waste of time and ignoring the complaints.

They stay for exactly an hour, everyone fiddling with their phones and meandering slowly down the paths, paying no attention to the displays. After that, Aubrey waves them off and everyone scatters, glad to be released. It isn't like Aubrey really has any power over them, it's just that following her orders is so ingrained into all of them that no one has the balls to argue.

Stacie hangs back and waits until they've all left before she approaches Aubrey, who's studying a strange and somewhat disturbing statue of a lion ripping apart a horse. "What's that?" she asks quietly, and Aubrey jumps a little.

"Stacie! I didn't know anyone was still here."

"Yeah, well. I didn't want to abandon you," Stacie says with a smile, cocking her head to the side. "I think this place is kind of cool."

That's a blatant lie; she doesn't find the place at all interesting. She'd much rather be at a science museum, but staying is worth it to see the grin spread across Aubrey's face. "You're sweet." She turns back to the statue and gestures at it. "It's called The Horse and the Lion, and it was commissioned by Christian IV in 1617. It kind of represents a Persian legend about the battle of light and dark," she explains. Stacie does her best to appear interested, but Aubrey glances at her and isn't fooled.

"You don't like history?" she asks with a half-smile.

Stacie shrugs guiltily. "Not really."

"Why not?"

"I don't like to think about the past," she says quietly. "I'd rather just concentrate on what's happening now."

Aubrey gives her a long look before returning her gaze to the statue. "I love history. We wouldn't exist without it."

That's a fair point, and Stacie is left to consider it as she follows Aubrey along the path. Chloe texts them a few minutes later to say that they've made dinner reservations and that they'll meet them at the restaurant, so Stacie leads the way back to the exit. Aubrey walks just a half-step behind her, close enough for their hands to brush.

/

Dinner is a subdued gathering. There's a distinct feeling of sadness among them; everyone is all too aware of the fact that not long after they leave Denmark, they're going to scatter across the rest of the world with only rushed promises to call holding the relationships together.

Stacie is next to Aubrey but is almost regretting that decision. Aubrey's leg is touching her own and every time they touch all Stacie can feel is guilt. She isn't sure whether she hates herself more for successfully putting Aubrey's relationship with Donald out of her mind for as long as she has, or what she did with her over the last two days. Stacie moves her leg away from Aubrey's, hoping she won't notice, but Aubrey shoots her a questioning glance and Stacie avoids it.

/

As soon as it's acceptable to leave the table, Stacie excuses herself, claiming sleep deprivation and stealing the room key from Amy's purse.

She knows Aubrey will be right behind her when she reaches the curb, so she doesn't bother turning around when she asks, "Why are you following me?"

"Why do you think?" Aubrey's voice is not seductive as Stacie had anticipated; instead, she sounds hurt and a little bit angry.

Stacie hails a cab before turning to face her. "I don't know, Aubrey. I'd think that maybe you'd feel just a tiny bit bad about what we've done."

Aubrey lets out a huff. "Really? You're bringing this up again?"

"What, you expect me to just ignore the fact that you have a boyfriend?"

"I don't want to talk about him with you!"

"Are you kidding me right now?" Stacie asks, incredulous. "You expect me to fuck you and then just shut up and pretend you haven't cheated? Why are we even doing this?" 

"I want you," Aubrey says, sounding like she's holding back tears.

Stacie doesn't have any room for sympathy. "Then break up with him."

"And then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I lose him, I won't have anyone," Aubrey says.

"What are you talking about? You have family, friends…you could probably pick whoever you wanted to date and they'd have no complaints." She opens the door of the taxi.

"What about you?" Aubrey whispers.

Stacie pauses. "What about me?"

"Could I pick you?"

Stacie could choose to melt over those words, to fall into Aubrey's arms and kiss her, but she can't trust her now. "You've lost your chance," she says, and the words feel cold as they drop from her mouth. "I'm done, Aubrey. If you want anything with me, you need to get rid of him and then maybe we'll talk. But I am done with this until then."

"Stacie—" Aubrey starts, reaching out a hand to lay on her shoulder.

"Get off," Stacie chokes. She hates that she's crying now, and she turns her face away, getting fully into the taxi.

"Stacie, please, wait!"

"I'm done," she says, again. "Don't call me."

She slams the door and grits out the address of the hotel, wiping her eyes furiously and letting the cab take her away from something she knows will never end well, no matter how much she years to continue it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Tell Her (One Night)  
 **Chapter:** 3/3  
 **Author:** jdc15  
 **Rating:** M/NC-17

 **Word Count:** About 5.8k  
 **Summary:** _She couldn't have guessed they would come to this, but now that they're here, she can't bring herself to regret anything._

 **Note 1:** Ugh I am in love with Alexis Knapp send help (preferably send her to do the helping). Also please excuse my lack of med school knowledge. I'm 18 and the only experience I have with it is my extensive Grey's Anatomy bingeing :(

 **Note 2:** This is the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed this story! I've already got a new Staubrey work planned, so keep an eye out.

 **Note 3:** Also, please check out my new tumblr: www . staubrey-fanfiction . tumblr . com (obviously remove the spaces). It's an archive of the best Staubrey fics I can find on the internet (still working on building it up though, so bear with me). If you leave prompts there I'll fill them.

The intern exam is fucking hard.

She's actually sweating a little when she files out of the room with the others, making a beeline for her car so she can immediately bury her nose in her laptop and try to fact-check the answers that she remembers selecting. At this point, she almost regrets choosing cellular biology for her graduate study because it is so ridiculously difficult.

When she's finally satisfied that she can't have failed too badly, she dials Beca's cell number out of habit. The girl picks up fairly quickly. "Hey, Stace. How was the test?"

"Awful. I think I did okay, though."

"Don't be ridiculous. You know you aced that shit." There's loud crunching coming though the phone along with the unmistakable electronic sounds of a new mix.

"Quit eating chips while you're on the phone, it's annoying."

Beca ignores her and crunches loudly again. "Don't be hormonal. Have you called Chlo yet?"

"No, I just figured she'd be with you."

There's some rustling and then Chloe's chipper tone rings over the line. "Stacie! How was the exam?"

"Hi Chloe. It was fine."

"I'm sure you aced it," Chloe echoes Beca confidently.

"Maybe."

"Of course you did. Hey, come for dinner tonight, okay? We're making pizzas!"

"Yeah, sure. I'll bring salad." Stacie agrees.

"Sweet. Come around seven. Amy's coming too."

"Sounds good. See you then." She hangs up and heads for the shower. She's ready for a long-awaited break from the frenzied studying that has overtaken her life for the past few months, and Chloe can always be counted on to be stocked with high quality wine.

/

Fat Amy throws the door open barely three seconds after Stacie has knocked. "Thank god. They're going at it on the couch. I may be a professional wrestler but there is no way I'm getting between those two horny rabbits." She shudders and Stacie stifles a laugh.

"We are not 'going at it,'" Chloe protests, materializing behind Amy, though her thoroughly rumpled appearance suggests otherwise. Beca, beet red, slinks past into the bathroom. Amy throws her hands up and wanders into the kitchen.

Stacie follows her after a moment, shooting Chloe a look and pulling out the salad. "You really shouldn't fuck your girlfriend in front of guests, you know. It's bad manners."

"We were not!" Chloe argues, and they banter back and forth while they set out the plates. Beca doesn't say a word when she returns, but she bats Chloe's wandering hands away at once with a mortified glance to Amy.

/

"So," Chloe says once they've taken their seats. "You guys excited for the reunion tomorrow? Three-year anniversary of the worlds!"

"Hell yeah," Fat Amy says around a mouthful of pizza. "It's been too long since all of us aca-bitches have gotten smashed together."

"'Getting smashed' isn't really the reason we're getting together, Amy," says Chloe, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. Amy shrugs and polishes off another slice of pizza.

"Anyway, I just thought we should do something to celebrate it," Chloe continues, squeezing Beca's hand. "Beca and I didn't really see you guys much until a few months ago, since we were in Europe and everything, but now that the four of us are living so close, I thought we could make it a kind of tradition. Like a yearly reunion. I mean, it'll be hard getting everyone together…half of them aren't even going to make it tomorrow, but it's better than nothing. I just wish everyone lived here with us," she sighs.

"Not sure we'd all fit in the apartment," Stacie says.

Chloe swats her on the arm. "You know what I mean. But anyway, everyone's coming and I'm so excited. Even Aubrey said she can make it, which is so amazing since I haven't seen her since the Worlds—"

She stops abruptly when Stacie fumbles her fork and drops it onto her plate with a clatter.

"Oh my god, Stace, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…I mean, I shouldn't have—"

"It's fine," Stacie says tightly. "But can we not talk about her, please?"

"Of course," Chloe says immediately. "I'm sorry, Stace—"

"It's fine." Stacie cuts her off, hating herself for the tears that prick at the back of her eyes. "I'm going to get some air."

/

She doesn't know why a simple mention of Aubrey is affecting her so much. For god's sake, it's been three years since they've seen each other, and they haven't had any contact whatsoever. Even so, she can count on one hand the number of days in which Aubrey hasn't crossed her mind in one way or another.

She considers skipping out on the reunion, but she knows Chloe will burn her at the stake if she so much as mentions it, so instead she keeps her mouth shut and returns to the dinner table with a tight-lipped smile and channels her anxiety into stabbing at the bits of tomato in her salad.

/

She allows herself to be an hour late, and is one of the last people there. She glances around the room and relaxes slightly when there's no familiar flash of blonde. Chloe waves at her and makes her way over with a drink. Stacie accepts it but sips it slowly, wanting to avoid becoming intoxicated; she knows what could happen if she was drunk and that is absolutely not an option tonight.

"How are you?" Chloe asks quietly.

"I'm fine," Stacie says and Chloe squeezes her arm comfortably.

"You didn't have to come if you really didn't want to."

"Yes I did, you would have shot me. And I wanted to see everyone."

"I wouldn't have shot you. I might have pulled out the taser, but it wouldn't be bad enough to warrant a murder." She grins and pats Stacie's shoulder. "I'm going to get more drinks. Thanks for coming."

"Of course. And Chloe, do you know if—"

"As far as I know, she's still coming. Fairly soon, I'd assume." Chloe smiles sympathetically. "If you need to talk, I'll be around."

"Okay. Thanks." Stacie takes a breath and edges toward the kitchen, wanting a vantage point where she can watch the front door but find a quick escape route if needed.

She starts a conversation with Cynthia Rose and her new girlfriend, unsurprised when several hints are dropped regarding a threesome. She flirts back because, why not, but snaps her mouth shut when the door opens and a very familiar figure enters the room.

"Excuse me," Stacie says. "I have to go, but it was really nice to meet you."

The girls nod and wave her off and Stacie turns to make her way to the staircase, but collides with Chloe before she can make it.

"Stace, what—"

"Chloe!" Aubrey's voice rings through the hubbub of the party, and Chloe waves back with a grin. Stacie, trapped, has no choice but to turn around.

When she does, it's like a ball of tar has hit her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her and sticking fast to her skin where it drags her to the ground and buries her in sand.

There's a little boy clutching Aubrey's hand. His skin is just a shade darker than hers, his black hair flopping over his eyes and his eyes looking shyly at Stacie. There's a moment when Aubrey smiles down at him, and then she follows his gaze.

Their eyes meet and there's a moment where Stacie actually thinks she might be having a heart attack, but then Aubrey's giving her a tentative half-smile, and Stacie bolts from the room, nearly knocking Chloe down and fighting desperately against the tears.

Aubrey has a _son_.

/

She isn't sure if she's sad, or angry, or some combination of the two. All she can feel right now is shock.

"Stacie!"

"Go away. Please, Aubrey, just leave me alone," Stacie sobs.

"Stacie—"

"I said go away."

"I just want to talk to you!"

Stacie shoves her way upstairs and into the spare bedroom which is thankfully empty, and slams the door behind her. There's an immediate sound of a fist on the door and Aubrey's voice comes through, muffled but still jarring.

"Stacie, please let me in."

Stacie buries her face in her hands and tries unsuccessfully to block her out. She really hopes she isn't having a heart attack.

"Please, just let me talk to you. Give me five minutes." She's begging, and Stacie really wishes she could just ignore her, but she won't ever be able to do that.

She stands and wrenches the door open, slamming her hand into the wall. "Is this why? Is the fact that you—that you have a _child_ the reason for you not being with me? How does any of this even make sense?" She's thoroughly confused and more upset than she's ever been in her life. She stares frustratedly at Aubrey, who, appropriately, looks like she wants to die.

"I'm so sorry, Stacie," Aubrey says, choking up. "At—at the lodge, the first time, I had only just found out. I didn't ever expect anything to happen with you, and when it did, I couldn't make myself resist it. I already wanted to leave him, but I—I couldn't do that to him, not without telling him I was having his baby."

"What about at the Worlds?" Stacie searches Aubrey's face for any sign of dishonesty, but finds nothing.

"I was just starting to show, a tiny bit, but it wasn't really noticeable—"

"Is that why you wouldn't let me touch you?" Stacie realizes suddenly.

Aubrey nods and brings her left hand to push her bangs out of her eyes, and that's when Stacie sees it.

"You married him."

Aubrey freezes, the ring on her finger glittering menacingly. Stacie backs away, shaking her head. "I can't believe you married him!"

Aubrey, for the first time, looks angry. "You told me not to call you! I was having a baby, for God's sake, and you told me you didn't want anything to do with me!"

"No, I told you to get rid of Donald and then talk to me," Stacie snaps.

"Get rid of him? Really? Stacie, do you really think I'd ever choose him over you?"

"You _did_ choose him."

"No, I chose _him_." Aubrey points her finger to where the little boy is sitting on Chloe's lap on the floor below them, visible over the balcony that guards the upper hallway.

There's a pause while Stacie's eyes fall on him over Aubrey's shoulder, watching how his smile spreads across his face just like Aubrey's does, and how he reaches a shy hand to poke at Chloe's nose. He's exactly how Stacie would expect a child of Aubrey's to be, though she doesn't think she's ever consciously considered Aubrey having kids before.

"What's his name?"

"Jacob," Aubrey murmurs.

"He's beautiful," Stacie says quietly. "I would have loved to know him. And I think I would have loved you too."

She walks away, then, and Aubrey doesn't come after her.

/

When she walks into Beca's room and buries her face in the shorter girl's hair, there are no questions asked. Beca holds her while she cries, rubbing her back and holding her even though Stacie knows Beca hates this kind of thing.

"Hey, it's okay," Beca says quietly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay."

/

She throws herself into her classwork until she graduates at the top of her class, a residency at Stanford already secured, and that much closer to making changes to the world's medical practices.

She finds an apartment ten minutes from the hospital and spends her free time decorating it with paintings of waterfalls and pictures of her parents, the Bellas, her childhood. It's nice, being able to have something that's hers, her own space. It's the first time she's lived alone in her life, and while it's lonely at first, it eventually grows on her. It isn't like her job leaves her much time to wish she had someone, anyway.

Sometimes she brings people home, but nothing lasts longer than a night or two. She likes it that way. A relationship is too much to commit to, and she feels like she should be working on herself until her life is a bit less turbulent.

Beca and Chloe get engaged three months later and move to San Francisco and Amy and Bumper reunite yet again, so the five of them get together every week. Being the fifth wheel is depressing sometimes, but Stacie doesn't have anyone she's serious enough with to bring along.

None of them ever allow Aubrey to come up in conversation. It hurts, but it's better that way. She tells herself she's over it. Chloe swears she didn't know that Aubrey was married with a kid, and Stacie believes her. It wouldn't matter either way, though, because the situation is what it is and Stacie tries not to spend any more time worrying about it.

/

Beca and Chloe's wedding is quite possibly the cutest thing Stacie has ever witnessed. Chloe looks absolutely beautiful in her dress, and Beca has a distinct look of a child stuffed into formal wear for a special occasion, though she doesn't stop smiling at Chloe through the entire ceremony.

Stacie cries like a baby when they say their vows. There is no question that they're probably the best couple to ever grace the planet, and she's grateful to have people like them in her life. Chloe's unending kindness and cuddly nature is balanced by Beca's standoffish, down-to-earth persona, and they are so clearly made for each other.

"Congratulations," she tells them later, wiping tears from Chloe's cheeks and punching Beca on the shoulder with a wink. "How do you feel?"

Chloe says nothing, just buries her face in Beca's neck. Beca tries her best to stop the grin from covering her face but is wildly unsuccessful, and Stacie flicks the tip of her nose playfully. "Don't suppress it, Mitchell. You have a smokin' wife now."

Beca lets out a laugh and turns to Chloe, kissing her softly and scratching her fingers at the base of her neck. Stacie wipes tears from her own eyes, so happy for them but at the same time realizing the feeling growing in her stomach. She wishes more than anything that she could have this with someone, but she's starting to think it will never be a reality. This is their day, though, so she stops feeling sorry for herself and takes over camera duty to distract herself.

/

She ends up drinking a bit too much and takes a guy home from the reception. He's taller than her, and it still feels kind of strange to tilt her head up to kiss someone instead of leaning down. The sex isn't terrible, but it's quick and not emotional in the slightest. It's been months of one-night stands and hookups so she's used to it, and in college that would have been enough, but it just isn't anymore.

She kicks him out right after. He leaves willingly enough after grabbing her tits once more through her shirt, and she shuts the door after him and leans against it. She lets herself feel pitiful for exactly two minutes before she pulls herself together and heads for the shower.

/

Two months later, she's shuffling through her mail when she sees one addressed to her in familiar handwriting, and rips it open to find photocopies of signed and dated divorce papers with a post-it stuck to the top.

 _If it isn't too late, I'm nothing but yours._

 _I love you._

 _-A_

This time it really does have to be a heart attack. She doesn't see how it couldn't be.

/

"Who sends someone something like that?" She says, throwing her hands in the air. "I mean, why couldn't she just call he like a normal person?"

"It's romantic," Chloe chides, taking a sip from her coffee mug. "Right babe?"

"Yeah," Beca mumbles, face buried in her laptop.

"See, if Beca says it's romantic, there's no question," Chloe smirks.

Stacie raises an eyebrow. "Whatever. What do I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't have any fucking idea! That's the whole problem! This was so out of the blue."

"Well, she clearly wants you," Beca says, finally looking up.

She doesn't mean to, but she starts to spend a lot more time than she's proud of thinking about what she would do if Aubrey were to show up again. She starts to have dreams about it almost every night; most of them include nothing more than Aubrey knocking on her door and pinning her against the wall, but sometimes she dreams about long conversations which end with marriage proposals, declarations of love, or falling into bed.

She surprises herself when Jacob pops into the next one, his wide brown eyes crinkling at the corners just like Aubrey's. He reaches a small hand out and she takes it, pulling him into a hug before Aubrey walks in and kisses her, one hand on her jaw and the other on the boy's shoulder. She wakes up crying and punches her pillow so hard she hits the headboard behind it and makes her hand bleed.

She logs onto Facebook the next morning, suddenly desperate to find a photo of him, to know that he really does exist and he's really Aubrey's. She has to go through Chloe's page to find Aubrey's, since they aren't Facebook friends, but when she does she clicks the profile picture straight away.

In the image, Aubrey is sitting on a lawn chair with Jacob in her lap, grinning at him like he's the most precious thing in the world. He's wearing a pair of red swimming trunks and she has on a white two-piece bathing suit, her skin tanned and her long hair pulled into a messy bun.

In the previous profile picture, Aubrey is wearing a short dress and has her arms around some girl Stacie doesn't recognize, mouth open in laughter. Jacob is sitting on a stool next to them, the ice cream cone in his hands dripping all over his lap. Donald stands just behind them, holding a beer and smiling at the camera. Stacie studies him for a moment. He looks different; his hair is shorter and more conservatively cut, his glasses are gone, and she has to admit he looks good. She closes the picture, feeling like an asshole because he's clearly so happy with his family, which isn't even his family anymore. She can't help but feel she's to blame. Even if Aubrey wasn't happy with him, Stacie can't be sure she would have filed for divorce if nothing had transpired between them at the lodge and the Worlds.

She spends over an hour going through the pictures on Aubrey's page, smiling at the album entitled "Bellas World Championships." She scrolls through until she catches sight of one of just the two of them. Stacie is in front, arms raised as she sings, and Aubrey stands a bit behind, looking straight at her and looking sadder than Stacie's ever seen. It makes her feel terrible suddenly as she realizes finally that this isn't only hard for her. It's probably worse for Aubrey. She's the one with a child, an ex-husband she doesn't want to have, and the weight of the fact that she cheated on him on her shoulders. She wonders if Aubrey ever told him about her, and what they did.

Stacie suddenly regrets the way she's acted, and she slams her laptop shut. She presses the heels of her palms so far into her eyes that she sees stars, and her hands are wet when she pulls them away.

/

She locks and unlocks her phone so many times that it dies unexpectedly, and she freaks out for the five minutes that it takes to turn back on, still unable to decide what to do. When the screen finally lights back up, she takes a deep breath and opens the messaging app, fingers trembling as she types a message.

 _Can we meet up?_

It takes three hours for a response to come in, and by the time it does Stacie has chewed her lip raw and bitten down every single one of her fingernails. She scrambles for her phone and when she sees Aubrey's name on the lock screen, she swipes it immediately.

 _Yes. I'm so glad you want to. When are you free? I'm in San Francisco._

She responds immediately. _Can you do tomorrow? Maybe lunch? I'll come there_

 _Want to meet at Oasis? Around 12?_

 _Sure_

There's a few minutes before Aubrey responds, and Stacie occupies herself playing a game on her phone until is buzzes with a new text.

 _Ok, see you then. Thank you for agreeing to meet me. I've missed you._

/

She decides not to call Beca or Chloe. This feels like something she should keep to herself, at least until she knows what's going to happen from here. She almost regrets not calling Chloe when it's time to find something to wear though. She ends up in jeans and a button down, hoping it's appropriate for the situation. She's been to this restaurant before and she knows it's casual, but she still feels like she has to impress Aubrey somehow.

She arrives excessively early, so she sits in her car in the parking lot for half an hour, checking her makeup every thirty seconds in the rearview. She finally steps out and walks into the restaurant at five till twelve, spotting Aubrey instantly.

She's sitting in a small booth near the back, facing the door, and she looks up and waves when she sees Stacie. Stacie waves back nervously and makes her way toward her, wishing her palms would stop sweating and her heart rate would chill out a little.

Aubrey stands when Stacie reaches the table, offering a smile. "Hi."

"Hi. How are you?"

"Good. How are you?"

"I'm okay," Stacie says tightly, trying to will herself to calm down. They take their seats and lapse into silence, avoiding each other's gaze.

"Thank you for meeting me," Aubrey says finally.

"Yeah, of course."

There's another pause before Stacie asks, "Where's Jacob today?"

Aubrey looks almost surprised that Stacie is asking about him. "Beca and Chloe are watching him for me. I'm staying with them for a while until I get my own place."

So much for Chloe not knowing about them meeting. Now she really wishes she had called her for a second opinion on the outfit, especially since Aubrey looks absolutely gorgeous in a patterned sundress and denim jacket. Aubrey's eyes haven't strayed from her face, though, so maybe it doesn't matter.

Stacie kind of wants to get her out of that dress, and it's almost like old times except now Aubrey's divorced and they're meeting for what might be a date. There's another stab of guilt when she remembers the note and the divorce papers, and sighs heavily.

"What's wrong?" Aubrey asks, dipping her head to catch Stacie's gaze.

"I don't know." She sighs. "I guess…I feel bad about what happened with Donald."

"What about it?"

"I feel like I came between you."

"You didn't break us up," Aubrey says. "I mean, you had a lot to do with it, yes, but I know it would have happened eventually anyway, and it's better for Jake for it to happen when he's as young as possible."

"I guess so," Stacie says. It's a fair point, and she starts to feel a little better as the waitress comes over to take their orders.

/

They leave the restaurant over an hour and a half later. Stacie's stress level is significantly reduced, as they spent the entirety of the meal talking out everything from Aubrey's marriage to Jake's favorite activities at school. Stacie kind of loves the way Aubrey's face lights up when she talks about the little boy.

They decide to take a walk, and head down the street, glancing into the shops and discussing mundane things. Stacie feels truly comfortable with Aubrey for the first time since graduation, and she feels confident enough to run her fingers down the inside of Aubrey's forearm and trace circles into her palm. Aubrey bites her lip with a glance at Stacie before entwining their fingers fully. Stacie squeezes her hand as they continue down the street in silence, unable to rid herself of the smile on her face.

/

It turns out that Aubrey walked to the restaurant since Chloe and Beca's is so close, so they make their way back to Stacie's car and she drives them both back. She waits for Aubrey to speak first when she pulls into the driveway.

"Would you like to come up?" Aubrey asks.

"Sure," Stacie says, some of her nerves returning. They step out and she locks the doors, following Aubrey up the stairs and into the apartment.

"Hey guys!" Aubrey calls as she hangs up her coat, and there's an answering shout from the kitchen. A moment later, Jake runs in and slams into Aubrey's knees.

"Hey!" Aubrey grins, leaning down to hug him. "How was the park?"

"Awesome!" He squeals, bouncing a little. "I petted a dog!"

"Ooh, what color was it?" Aubrey asks.

"Black," he says, and then his eyes fall on Stacie. He looks shy suddenly and shrinks back a little.

"Hey, Jake, this is my friend Stacie," Aubrey says encouragingly.

"Hey," Stacie says, not sure how exactly to speak to him. She doesn't really have much experience with kids. "How's it going?"

"Good," he says. "You're really tall."

Aubrey laughs and Stacie loosens up a little bit, bending down a little. "Better?"

He giggles and Aubrey pats his head. Stacie straightens up when Beca and Chloe walk in. They each hug her before Beca says, "So, Jake, wanna go to McDonalds?"

They all looks at her curiously, and Jake yells "McDonalds!"

"Okay then, let's go," Beca says, grabbing Chloe's wrist and pulling her toward the door. "We'll be back in like four hours."

She shoots Stacie a meaningful look and Stacie stares back, confused. The three of them leave and Stacie turns to Aubrey, mouth open. "What was that?"

"I have no idea," Aubrey said. "But they better not give him too much ice cream or he'll never go to bed later. Here, I'll get you a drink."

Stacie takes a seat on the couch and twists her fingers anxiously until Aubrey returns and hands her a glass of water. "Thank you."

"No problem," Aubrey says, taking a seat next to her, just close enough for their sleeves to brush. "So…do you want to talk about anything else?"

"I mean, I think we covered everything," Stacie says lamely. She feels like they're little kids, about to pull the "what do you want to do?/I don't know, what do you want to do?" routine, and she sighs. "Wanna watch TV?"

"Sure," Aubrey says, and Stacie gets the impression she's trying not to laugh. She ignores it, though, and switches the TV on. The comedy channel is on with some weird kids' show playing, but Stacie leaves it on.

"Jake and the Neverland Pirates?" Aubrey raises an eyebrow. "You like this show?"

"Never seen it," Stacie says. "You clearly have, though."

"It's Jake's favorite, because the main character has the same name as him. Plus they kind of look alike. He totally thinks it's a show about him."

"That's adorable," Stacie says.

"Yeah, it is," Aubrey murmurs, and then suddenly her face is really, really close, her nose nudging at Stacie's jaw. "Hey, Stace?"

"Yeah?" Stacie whispers, heart rate picking up immediately.

"Can I kiss you?"

Instead of answering, Stacie presses her lips gently to Aubrey's, lingering there for a moment before pulling back. Aubrey's eyes stay closed and her hand moves to Stacie's thigh, rubbing circles over her jeans. Stacie gasps a little and leans in again, kissing her with a little more intention.

Their lips slide together a bit clumsily, and though they've kissed multiple times before this, it feels like the first time. Aubrey's tongue runs over Stacie's lower lip, barely flicking against her skin until she opens her mouth and kisses her deeply, hands moving to Aubrey's lower back.

Aubrey moans a little into her mouth and then she's unbuttoning the third and fourth buttons of Stacie's shirt and her hand is slipping inside to cup her breast over her bra. Stacie leans into the touch and Aubrey pulls the shirt apart, the rest of the buttons slipping open. Stacie struggles out of the shirt and Aubrey reaches for her bra clasp. "Can I take this off?"

"Yeah," Stacie pants. She's already embarrassingly turned on, and when Aubrey flings the bra to the floor and takes a nipple into her mouth, she falls forward until Aubrey's flat on her back with Stacie straddling her.

She shoves at the straps of Aubrey's dress, pulling it down enough so that Aubrey's chest is exposed. She doesn't have a bra on and Stacie has never been more grateful for anything in the entire life. She brings her hands up to cup both of Aubrey's boobs, twisting her nipples just hard enough for Aubrey to arch violently off the cushions. "Oh my god—Stacie—"

"Yeah?" Stacie mumbles against Aubrey's neck, grinding down against her hips, desperate for relief. It's been so long since they were together, and no other night with anyone else has come close to the intensity of being with Aubrey.

"Should we—the spare room—"

"I can't wait that long, Bree," Stacie says. She's almost crying now which would totally be humiliating except she doesn't have the mental capacity to focus on being embarrassed right now. Aubrey surges up and kisses her hungrily before fumbling the button of her jeans open. Stacie kicks them off along with her underwear and lowers herself onto Aubrey's thigh. Aubrey places her hands on Stacie's hips and guides her into a rhythm, groaning when Stacie attaches her lips to her neck and bites down.

Stacie runs her hand up Aubrey's side, frustrated when she meets fabric. She forces herself to sit back and pulls Aubrey to sit up, yanking the dress up and over her head, thankful for the stretchy material. She drops her hands to Aubrey's waist and peels back her underwear, nearly ripping it in her haste to get rid of it.

She presses three fingers between Aubrey's legs, loving the way her head falls back and her throat bobs. She slips two fingers inside her and pulls Aubrey's leg up a little so she can lower herself back against it. Aubrey doesn't let her, though; instead, she runs her own hand from Stacie's jaw all the way down her body, stopping to circle around her breasts, and then down between her legs to rub perfect circles. Stacie kisses her hard, nipping at her bottom lip and holding herself as close as she can to Aubrey. Their chests press together and Stacie licks her way across Aubrey's neck, sinking her teeth slightly into the skin over her collarbone as Aubrey presses harder in her and she comes, eyes squeezing shut and the feeling overtakes her body. She'd almost, but not quite, forgotten how much she missed this. She relaxes, just for a moment, before she places a single kiss on Aubrey's lips and then slides down her body to press her mouth between her legs.

Aubrey's hands scrape along Stacie's shoulders, legs trembling as she moans Stacie's name. Stacie licks against her, fingers still inside. She takes her clit into her mouth and sucks, and Aubrey's hips jerk, nearly throwing her off the couch. Stacie smirks against her skin and licks just slightly harder. Aubrey cries out and Stacie's name rolls off her tongue again and again as she comes, hands reaching to pull her up and kiss her breathlessly, their legs tangling together. Aubrey's bangs are sticking to her face, and Stacie pushes them away to press open-mouthed kisses from her cheek, down her neck, and to her chest. Aubrey's chest heaves and she lets out a laugh.

"I've missed this," she admits.

"I was just thinking that," Stacie grins, rubbing their noses together gently. "Like, crazy missed it."

"Crazy," Aubrey agrees, before her face grows just a bit more serious.

"What's wrong?" Stacie asks, concerned.

"I—nothing." Aubrey looks nervous, and Stacie feels her chest tighten up.

"I love you," Aubrey finally says, just loudly enough for Stacie to catch.

Stacie pulls back to look at her. Her chest is still tight, but now for a different reason. "You do? Really?"

She's had people tell her they loved her before, but never like this, lying close on a couch with nothing but affection in their eyes like Aubrey has now. She doesn't even think about saying anything except, "I love you too," and molds their lips together again when Aubrey's eyes flutter shut.

She couldn't have guessed they would come to this, but now that they're here, she can't bring herself to regret anything. They've got nothing but freedom, and she buries her face in Aubrey's shoulder, content with the knowledge that she can hold her for as long as she wants.

For once, nothing hurts, and she thinks that she might have finally found something worth keeping.


End file.
